Pokémon: Global Invasion

Chapter 52: The Top 8 Matches

After a brief speech from the leaders, the competition officially began.

Ryoma and Yuto, designated as number 1, remained in the arena, not leaving after the referee completed the coin toss and moved to their designated player area.

Opposite them were their opponents, the trainers of Manectric and Pyroar. Ryoma glanced at the Pyroar trainer and noticed that the latter seemed to be mixed race; he probably went by the name George.

Hmm, very western.

It seemed evident that this guy was indeed mixed race; otherwise, he wouldn't have access to a Pyroar, which is predominantly found in western regions. Each area's Alliance strictly controls the availability of Pokémon.

"Please send out your Pokémon, prepare for battle!"

"In a 2v2 double battle, each trainer will use one Pokémon. The match ends when one side's two Pokémon are unable to continue battling!" The referee diligently fulfilled his duties.

Once the referee completed the announcement of the match rules, both sides quickly threw out their Poké Balls, and four Pokémon instantly appeared on the field, drawing cheers from the audience.

The striking combination of Manectric and Pyroar attracted even more fans, resulting in a chorus of supportive shouts.

"Still feeling pretty frustrated!"

"We absolutely have to win this round and give them a good slap in the face!" Yuto said, pouting in irritation.

Ryoma nodded slightly. "Then let's go with that strategy. Winning this round shouldn't be too difficult."

"Alright, watch me! Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"

"Hmph, Pyroar, we'll use Flamethrower too!"

"Manectric, use Thunder Wave!"

"Sand Attack, block it!"

Immediately, the battle was on the verge of erupting. Both Fire-type Pokémon let out a roar before unleashing flames that clashed violently in mid-air!

Meanwhile, Manectric used Thunder Wave, creating an electric net that descended, but it was blocked by a cloud of sand!

After the first round of combat, both sides were evenly matched!

"Charmeleon, use Smokescreen to cover the entire field!"

Charmeleon opened its mouth and spewed out thick black smoke, instantly enveloping the battlefield and covering all four Pokémon!

"Hmm? What's the strategy here?"

"Pyroar, be careful! They might be planning something!"

George frowned as he looked at the dense haze.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just as George finished speaking, a series of collision sounds erupted from the smoke, indicating that the Pokémon were already engaged in battle!

Boom!

In the next moment, Pyroar's robust figure soared out from the smoke and slammed hard against the protective wall, followed closely by Manectric, who also fell next to Pyroar!

"What just happened?"

"What was going on in that haze?"

Seeing the situation, all the audience members were astonished, completely unclear about what had transpired within the haze!

"I see now; they used the haze to obscure vision and then utilized Ground-type energy attached to the sand to sense the opponent's position!"

In the guest area, Professor Sato fiddled with the observation instruments, watching the small brown light points displayed on the screen, a look of admiration in his eyes.

While everyone was still astonished, a figure rolled out from the haze, spinning wildly and dragging the thick haze with it, charging towards the two downed Pokémon with terrifying momentum!

"It's Rollout! Pyroar, use Hyper Beam to block it!"

George's expression changed slightly. At his command, Pyroar quickly opened its mouth, and an orange-yellow beam instantly shot out, causing the air to tremble!

Boom!

In the next moment, Hyper Beam struck Sandshrew, caught in the Rollout, causing the latter's figure to freeze in place before being violently blasted away!

"To think it can even use Hyper Beam! But that move has its drawbacks after being used!"

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower on Pyroar!"

As a Pokémon scholar, Yuto had already memorized the details of these moves, and seeing Pyroar use Hyper Beam, he quickly ordered Charmeleon to launch an attack!

"Don't worry about that Flamethrower; my Pyroar has a high resistance to fire."

"You should have Manectric go directly for that Sandshrew. Its Ground type is unfavorable for both of our Pokémon!"

George's eyes flashed. From their previous brief exchange, he had sensed that Sandshrew was troublesome, and he planned to take advantage of the moment to take it out quickly.

"Okay, Manectric, use Fire Fang on Sandshrew!"

The Manectric trainer responded immediately. Since Ground type is immune to Electric-type damage, he commanded Manectric to use Fire Fang and charged toward the downed Sandshrew!

"Defense Curl!"

Seeing Manectric rushing in, Ryoma calmly commanded.

Immediately, the Sandshrew crouching on the ground quickly transformed into a ball, surrounded by normal-type energy, causing Manectric's Fire Fang to miss entirely.

In front of the ball-shaped Sandshrew, Manectric couldn't find a spot to sink its teeth into. However, it reacted quickly, the ground beneath its feet glowing with a flash of white light as it used Quick Attack to slam into Sandshrew!

"Rapid Spin, go meet it!"

Boom!

After using Defense Curl, Sandshrew spun its body, enveloped in normal-type energy, and executed Rapid Spin at lightning speed, colliding with Manectric's Quick Attack!

With a loud bang, both figures stumbled back a step. Before Manectric could catch its breath, a fiery red figure lunged forward, claws glowing with a flash of white light—Charmeleon was using Scratch!

"Pyroar, Flamethrower!"

Withstanding Pyroar's Flamethrower, Pyroar immediately retaliated with its own Flamethrower, aimed directly at Charmeleon!

"Sand Attack with a spin!"

Just as Flamethrower was about to hit Charmeleon, a gust of wind swept up, transforming into a sandstorm that blocked the Flamethrower!

Thanks to Professor Sato's recent training, Sandshrew's ability to execute spinning Sand Attack had greatly improved, allowing it to confidently deflect the powerful Flamethrower!

While Ryoma nodded in satisfaction, pleased with Sandshrew's progress over the time, a loud uproar erupted from the audience.

"Wow, what kind of move is this? So cool!"

"Is this a newly discovered Ground-type ultimate move? Its power is amazing; it can directly block such a strong Flamethrower!"

"And it seems to be both offensive and defensive—a truly powerful move!"

The audience gasped in awe, showing great interest in this move they had never seen before.